Study Guide

Field 123: Latin 
Sample Presentational Writing Assignment

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Test Directions for the Presentational Writing Assignment

[ start bold Note to examinee: end bold  These test directions are provided here to familiarize you with the directions you will see on the actual test. They may refer to features whose functionality is not enabled in this study guide.]

This section of the test involves translating a Latin passage into written English. You should use your time to plan, write, review, and edit your response to the assignment. You may use the erasable notebooklet provided to make notes; however, your final translation must be typed in the response box provided for the assignment.

Your response to the assignment will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:

 start bold  APPROPRIATENESS:  end bold  the extent to which the response is a clear and well-organized translation (syntactically and contextually appropriate rendering into idiomatic English) that demonstrates understanding of the Latin passage, captures significant details (including cultural details such as the products, practices, and perspectives of the target-language culture), and accurately expresses the meaning of the passage

 start bold  INTERPRETATION:  end bold  the extent to which the response expresses the meanings conveyed by figurative language and rhetorical devices used in the Latin passage

 start bold  GRAMMAR:  end bold  the extent to which the response uses contextually appropriate English grammar and syntax to express the meanings conveyed by the linguistic structures used in the Latin passage (e.g., indirect statement, contrary-to-fact conditions, result clauses, voice, mood, tense, word order)

 start bold  VOCABULARY:  end bold  the extent to which the response uses contextually appropriate English vocabulary and idiomatic language to express the meanings of the vocabulary and idiomatic language used in the Latin passage

Your response must be written in  start bold  English. end bold 

You may not use any reference materials during the test. Remember to review what you have written and make any changes you think will improve your response.

Sample Presentational Writing Assignment

subarea roman numeral 4 
Presentational Writing

 start bold  Translate into English the passage below from Cicero's In Verrem, in which Cicero discusses the mistreatment of a Roman citizen. Your translation should fully and completely express the meaning of the Latin text.  end bold 

Caedēbātur virgīs sup 1  in mediō forō Messānae cīvis Rōmānus, iūdicēs, cum intereā nūllus gemitus, nūlla vōx alia illīus miserī inter dolōrem crepitumque sup 2  plāgārum sup 3  audiēbātur nisi haec, "Cīvis Rōmānus sum." Hāc sē commemorātiōne cīvitātis omnia verbera dēpulsūrum cruciātumque ā corpore dēiectūrum arbitrābātur; is nōn modo hoc nōn perfēcit, ut virgārum vim dēprecārētur, sed cum implōrāret saepius ūsūrpāretque nōmen cīvitatis, crux,—crux, inquam,—īnfēlīcī et aerumnōsō sup 4 , quī numquam istam pestem vīderat, comparābātur.

 sup 1 virga, -ae: stick

 sup 2 crepitus, -ūs: sound

 sup 3 plāga, -ae: stroke, blow

 sup 4 aerumnōsus, -a, -um: wretched

Sample Strong Response to the Presentational Writing Assignment

 start bold  Please note: The sample response provided below is for review purposes only and should not be used in a response on an operational exam. Use of the exact words and phrases presented in this sample response will result in a score of "U" (Unscorable) due to lack of original work.  end bold 

In the middle of the forum at Messana, judges, a Roman citizen was being beaten with sticks, while at that time no groan, no other word from that poor man was heard among the pain and the sound of the blows except for this: "I am a Roman citizen." By this mention of his citizenship he thought that he would repel all beatings and push away the torture from his body. Not only did he not succeed in warding off the sticks, but, although he begged them again and again and used the name of citizen, a cross – a cross, I repeat – was being prepared for this unlucky and wretched man, who had never seen that dreadful thing before.

Rationale for the Sample Strong Response

The response is an effective, clear, and well-organized translation that demonstrates complete understanding of the Latin passage, effectively captures significant details, and accurately expresses the meaning of the passage. The translation effectively expresses the meanings of Cicero's rhetorical devices and figurative language, such as the direct address of "iūdicēs," the repetition of "nūllus," "nūlla," and "crux," the use of "vōx" to mean "word," the antithesis of "nōn modo…sed," and the parallelism of "dēpulsūrum" and "dēiectūrum."

The translation recognizes and accurately renders complex structures of Latin prose, such as the indirect statement without "esse" of "dēpulsūrum ...dēiectūrum," as "he thought that he would...," the object noun clause in "perfēcit ut ...," as "he succeeded in warding off...," the concessive clause "cum implōrāret ...," as "although he begged...," and the ablative of means in "hāc commemorātiōne" as "by this mention...".

The response effectively uses contextually appropriate English vocabulary, such as rendering "caedēbātur" as "was being beaten," and idiomatic language, such as rendering "istam pestem" as "that dreadful thing" to express the meanings of the Latin vocabulary and idiomatic language used in the passage. Overall, the translation effectively conveys the meaning of the passage and the presence of some minor errors does not interfere with comprehensibility. Such errors include rendering "virgarum vim" as "the sticks" rather than as "the force of the sticks," and rendering "nomen civitatis" as "the name of citizen" rather than as "the name of citizenship."

Sample Weak Response to the Presentational Writing Assignment

A Roman citizen was cut by sticks in the middle of the forum of Messana, judges, with no groaning from inside, no other voice of that misery did he hear among the pain and sound of the blows unless this: "I am a Roman citizen." By this commemoration of himself all words of the state were depulsed and he was protected by the dejection of his body. He in no way perfected this and he was experiencing the strength of the sticks, but when he often implored and usurped the name of the state, a cross - a cross, I say - unhappy and wretched was compared, which he never had seen that pest.

Rationale for the Sample Weak Response

The response is a partially effective translation of the Latin passage that is unclear and disorganized, demonstrates limited understanding of the Latin passage, captures few significant details, and only partially expresses the meaning of the Latin passage. The opening clause is translated accurately, as is the important quote "Civis Romanus sum," but frequent errors and the introduction of extraneous content compromise accuracy throughout. The English used is at times nonsensical or ungrammatical, often relying on derivatives that do not appear to be entirely understood. For example, the response renders "cum intereā nūllus gemitus" as "with no groaning from inside," and "Hāc sē commemorātiōne" as "By this commemoration of himself."

Meanings conveyed by figurative language and rhetorical devices are only partially expressed. For example, the repetition of "nūllus…nūlla" and "crux" are treated well, but the response fails to capture or express the meaning of "nōn modo…sed," rendering "nōn modo" as "in no way." There are many errors in vocabulary, for example, rendering "miserī" as "misery," and "arbitrābātur" as "he was protected." Complex linguistic structures are misinterpreted and rendered only partially accurately. For example, the response completely misses the indirect statement in "dēpulsūrum … arbitrābātur," and is inconsistent in rendering active, passive, and deponent verbs.

The response only partially uses contextually appropriate English grammar and syntax, compromising the accuracy of the translation. Cases are often mistranslated as when the response fails to account for the dative forms in "īnfēlīcī et aerumnōsō." Words are forced into English constructions that do not follow the Latin ("He was protected by the dejection of his body"). Subordinate clauses are misconstrued: "cum" in "cum intereā" is rendered as the preposition; the substantive clause after "perfēcit" has been misinterpreted as though it were a parallel clause with "et"; and the relative clause in the last sentence is also misunderstood and rendered as nonsense.

The response only partially uses contextually appropriate English vocabulary and idiomatic language, accurately rendering easy words and phrases like "cīvis Rōmānus" and "iūdicēs," but missing such words as "verbera" and "perfēcit." English words that derive from Latin words have been inappropriately used to translate their Latin etymons (e.g., "dejection" for "dēiectūrum"; "usurped" for "ūsūrpāret"; "compared" for "comparābātur"), and a nonexistent English word, "depulsed" has been created to translate the Latin "dēpulsūrum."

Performance Characteristics for the Presentational Writing Assignment

The following characteristics guide the scoring of responses to the presentational writing assignment.

Characteristics that guide the scoring of responses
APPROPRIATENESS: the extent to which the response is a clear and well-organized translation (syntactically and contextually appropriate rendering into idiomatic English) that demonstrates understanding of the Latin passage, captures significant details, and accurately expresses the meaning of the passage
INTERPRETATION: the extent to which the response expresses the meanings conveyed by figurative language and rhetorical devices used in the Latin passage
GRAMMAR: the extent to which the response uses contextually appropriate English grammar and syntax to express the meanings conveyed by the linguistic structures used in the Latin passage (e.g., indirect statement, contrary-to-fact conditions, result clauses, voice, mood, tense, word order)
VOCABULARY: the extent to which the response uses contextually appropriate English vocabulary and idiomatic language to express the meanings of the vocabulary and idiomatic language used in the Latin passage

Scoring Scale for the Presentational Writing Assignment

Scores will be assigned to each response to the presentational writing assignment according to the following scoring scale.

Score Scale with description for each score point.
Score Point Score Point Description
4  start bold The "4" response is an effective and accurate translation of the Latin passage. end bold 
  • The response is an effective, clear, and well-organized translation that demonstrates complete understanding of the Latin passage, effectively captures significant details, and accurately expresses the meaning of the passage. Minor errors do not compromise overall accuracy.
  • The response effectively expresses the meanings conveyed by figurative language and rhetorical devices used in the Latin passage. Minor errors do not compromise overall accuracy.
  • The response effectively uses contextually appropriate English grammar and syntax to express the meanings conveyed by the linguistic structures used in the Latin passage. Minor errors do not compromise overall accuracy.
  • The response effectively uses contextually appropriate English vocabulary and idiomatic language to express the meanings of the vocabulary and idiomatic language used in the Latin passage. Minor errors do not compromise overall accuracy.
3  start bold The "3" response is a generally effective and accurate translation of the Latin passage. end bold 
  • The response is a generally effective, clear, and well-organized translation that demonstrates general understanding of the Latin passage, generally captures significant details, and generally expresses the meaning of the passage. Some errors and the introduction of some extraneous content may compromise accuracy.
  • The response generally expresses the meanings conveyed by figurative language and rhetorical devices used in the Latin passage. Some errors may compromise accuracy.
  • The response generally uses contextually appropriate English grammar and syntax to express the meanings conveyed by the linguistic structures used in the Latin passage. Some errors may compromise accuracy.
  • The response generally uses contextually appropriate English vocabulary and idiomatic language to express the meanings of the vocabulary and idiomatic language used in the Latin passage. Some errors may compromise accuracy.
2  start bold The "2" response is a partially effective and accurate translation of the Latin passage. end bold 
  • The response is a partially effective translation that may be unclear and disorganized, demonstrates limited understanding of the Latin passage, captures few significant details, and only partially expresses the meaning of the passage. Frequent errors and the introduction of extraneous content compromise accuracy.
  • The response only partially expresses the meanings conveyed by figurative language and rhetorical devices used in the Latin passage. Frequent errors compromise accuracy.
  • The response only partially uses contextually appropriate English grammar and syntax to express the meanings conveyed by the linguistic structures used in the Latin passage. Frequent errors compromise accuracy.
  • The response only partially uses contextually appropriate English vocabulary and idiomatic language to express the meanings of the vocabulary and idiomatic language used in the Latin passage. Frequent errors compromise accuracy.
1  start bold The "1" response is an ineffective and inaccurate translation of the Latin passage. end bold 
  • The response is an ineffective, unclear, and disorganized translation that demonstrates little to no understanding of the Latin passage, captures little to no significant details, and inaccurately expresses the meaning of the passage. Lack of significant details and the presence of largely extraneous content significantly compromise accuracy.
  • The response expresses little to none of the meanings conveyed by figurative language and rhetorical devices used in the Latin passage.
  • The response uses little to no contextually appropriate English grammar and syntax to express the meanings conveyed by the linguistic structures used in the Latin passage.
  • The response uses little to no contextually appropriate English vocabulary and idiomatic language to express the meanings of the vocabulary and idiomatic language used in the Latin passage.
U  start bold The response is unrelated to the assigned topic, illegible, not written in the required language, or not of sufficient length to score. end bold 
B  start bold There is no response to the assignment. end bold